


Morpheus

by psychotraumatic



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-07 08:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11054871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychotraumatic/pseuds/psychotraumatic
Summary: Sleep is a funny thing. People rest their heads on a pillow and hope for a good night’s rest after a long day, but it’s hardly ever the case. People sleep, and people dream, only to wake up disturbed beyond belief.





	Morpheus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kunehonim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunehonim/gifts).



> From a prompt.
> 
> Chanyeol never stops sleeping. He doesn't get out of bed. It's only in dreams now where he gets to see Baekhyun. - [@promptcentral, 23 May 2015](https://twitter.com/promptcentral/status/601933731226624000)

 

Sleep is a funny thing. People rest their heads on a pillow and hope for a good night’s rest after a long day, but it’s hardly ever the case. People sleep, and people dream, only to wake up disturbed beyond belief.

He used to love the idea of dreaming. He remembered times when he dreamt of the most beautiful things. There was a time he was an astronaut and discovered a new planet. A time he was an actor and won the year’s top award. A time he traveled all around the world with his beloved by his side.

But reality had a way of ripping people out of their fantasies. He used to love his dreams, until he started waking up to nightmares.

He sighs as he brought the mug of tea closer to his lips, willing himself to remember that those days are long over. He takes a sip, letting the warmth wash over his mouth, eyes lazily trailing after the people passing by the room’s huge window. Everyone’s so busy going through their everyday routines, always rushing from one room to the next, barely paying attention to anything else around them.

He recalls being like them once, always moving at a fast pace as if he were participating in some marathon. Energetic, frazzled, frantic – he was all that and more. That was until life threw him a little curveball.

He smirks at the memory. He always thought he was not going to be one of those people so caught in the moment that the only way they could describe it was to liken it to a cheesy movie scene. But he’ll be the first to admit that he truly felt as if time slowed the second their eyes caught each other’s. He remembers having an internal battle of whether the shorter boy will find his grin too creepy or his ears too big, but he was rewarded with a bright square smile and crescent eyes that expressed he was just as happy. In one instant, he knew he found the person he was looking for.

They were quick to make friends with each other after just one meeting, amazed at just how much in common they had. Shallow talks about favorite food and cute animals soon became deep conversations on thoughts of family, ideas of love, dreams of forever. They were convinced they found the other half of their soul in one another.

It wasn’t long until they started making plans for their future together. The first was graduating with top marks, which later translated to finding a job that can help sustain their hopes and dreams. The next was finding a play to stay, one they can transform into a home for their family or perhaps a shelter for the 15 corgi pups they wanted to adopt. There was the hasty plan of traveling to New York as soon as the news that equal rights have won over the legality of who can get married, complete with a ceremony attended in ripped jeans and tacky tourist shirts.

He remembers waking up to beautiful notes sung in the middle of preparing breakfast, sometimes purposefully off-key to provide laughs on dreary Mondays. He remembers lazy weekend afternoons filled with war cries and furious mouse clicks over their latest gaming battle. He remembers nights when he’d be still be working and waiting for those telltale yips that would prompt him it was time for sleep.

They were just at the brink of starting their life together. And then everything changed.

 

* * *

 

Kyungsoo makes his way along the hall, taking in the sights and sounds of the workplace. It was only the end of his second day but he was already enjoying what he was doing. Perhaps it’s not the best way to describe his job all things considered, but he was always fascinated with the inner workings of the mind, hence the reason for doing what he does.

He knocks on the door, finally reaching his destination. The deep booming voice he’s still getting used to makes its way to his ears with a muffled “Come on in.”

He pokes his head through the door, face brightened up by his signature heart-shaped smile as a greeting before fully making his way in. “Hey Chanyeol,” he greets. “Just came by to help clean up. My shift’s nearly over so I’ll be leaving in a few.”

The room’s occupant makes a sound of assent, head nodding in understanding. “Lucky you,” he mumbles. “I still have way too much to take care of before that can happen.”

“Need company? You don’t look like you’re nearly done eating anyway and I have nothing else to do.”

Kyungsoo sits down just opposite of Chanyeol at the small dining area, nodding his head as he was told to wait for a few more minutes. “You want some food?” he gets asked. He politely declines, saying how his girlfriend will likely be in the process of making dinner by now.

“Well I’m jealous,” the other scoffs playfully. “He cooked for me a lot, too. At least until we figured we can’t spare any money on a lifetime supply of Tums and fire extinguishers.”

Kyungsoo laughs at the idea. He’s been hearing so much about the tall man’s partner in the two days they’ve known each other that he feels as if they’ve been friends for a long time. He listens as Chanyeol delves back into his memories for more anecdotes, waits for him to paint the perfect picture of how their life was like.

“He sounds really amazing,” he says with a warm smile, and he means it sincerely. With situations like these, it was always good to have a solid support system. “I’d love to meet him one day.”

“I dream about him a lot, you know?” Chanyeol shares. His wide grin seeming as if it’s the best revelation he can ever tell. “I remember everything we’ve done and it leaves me hopeful about everything we can and will do. Once I’m done here, I mean.”

The boy nods along as the taller shuffles his way towards the bed, signaling that he was finally done with his food. “You’ll get there,” he says. “You’ve been doing great here and I’m sure it won’t take long now.”

“Thanks,” comes the reply. Kyungsoo quirks his head in slight confusion at how downtrodden that single word sounded.

He shakes his head clear, owing it to the other’s tiredness instead. He turns his attention to the small table tucked against the corner of the room, piling empty plates onto the food tray to take out, mentally counting if he had everything. He was about to ask about a missing teacup when it zoomed past his head, the sound of plastic hitting the padded wall with a soft thud.

And then there was chaos.

 

* * *

 

“That was intense!” the nurse exclaimed, wiping at his brow as the group of men filed out of the room.

One of the orderlies heaves a sigh as he pulls off his latex gloves. “Get used to it, kid. It happens a lot, especially with that guy.”

“He was perfectly fine the past two days, what happened?”

“That’s Park Chanyeol for you,” the doctor says dejectedly. “He’s one of our permanent residents here. Suffers from a severe case of schizophrenia with manic tendencies. He basically can’t function out in the real world, so he keeps everyone in this hospital on their toes whenever he has an episode.”

Kyungsoo listens as Junmyeon continues with his new ward’s tragic story. A young man with a promising future, complete with the looks, brains, and money to make sure he gets nothing but the best. Said man falls in love and it all goes downhill from there.

“I don’t understand,” Kyungsoo interjects, brows furrowed in confusion. “From what he tells me, Baekhyun is an outstanding guy. They sounded perfect together. When did everything go wrong?”

“That’s the thing. Nothing’s been right in the first place,” Junmyeon says, face twisted in a rueful expression. “The guy he talks about, Byun Baekhyun – he doesn’t exist. Just a figment of his imagination. A vision his head came up with to cope with the stressors in his daily life.”

The nurse’s jaw drops at the words. He can barely wrap his head around the fact that the stories that regaled him the past two days were nothing more than fiction. There was no denying the happiness on Chanyeol’s face or the love in his eyes every time he simply uttered the name Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo turned his gaze back into the room, his hot breath fogging up the glass window that separated himself from his ward. He was having a bad enough struggle against himself, trying to pick apart the fantasy and reality in Chanyeol’s life. Just looking at the tall man’s prone form was too stark an image from that of the person who was filled with so much energy in sharing his love story, farther removed from the crazed individual who was thrashing so hard for six grown men to handle.

“He’ll sleep until tomorrow,” Junmyeon muses. “It’s another one of his curiosities.”

“What?”

“The tranquilizer dosage is only enough for him to be put to sleep for around four hours,” the doctor explains. “Any higher and it’ll have too adverse effects. But for some reason, Chanyeol remains asleep for nearly twelve.”

The nurse’s brows rise, unsure of what to make of the numbers.

“Sometimes we think he’s more aware than he lets on,” the doctor ponders on. “That he puts on this whole show of being happy one second and throwing a massive temper tantrum the next.”

“If he’s even acutely aware of what’s happening, doesn’t that mean there’s a break in his psychosis?” Kyungsoo mutters.

“With Chanyeol, it’s hard to tell. He had always been smart, and that’s what makes him dangerous.”

“How so?”

“If he is just pretending to have a psychotic episode, if he is completely lucid at any point –”

“Then he’s aware that Baekhyun doesn’t exist,” Kyungsoo finishes, voice breathless in disbelief.

It was right at the moment of his realization that the topic of their discussion moves, head turning to give both doctor and nurse a clear view of his sleeping face.

In his medically induced slumber, Chanyeol’s smile is one of peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Morpheus (/ˈmɔːrfiəs/ or /ˈmɔːrfjuːs/) is the Ancient Greek god of dreams, able to mimic any human form and to appear in dreams.


End file.
